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Riding An Emotional Roller Coaster

Question: Dear Luise: I am swinging from feeling like I am in Nirvana while looking at world events with the Muslins as a chance for all of us to all find a way to get along…to feeling deeply depressed when hearing that they have done such brutal acts that I am feeling afraid, thinking they should all be kept out of our country. I find a high within me when I think about how the gays have gained tolerance, if not respect, and then drop to a low when I read what the military is up to where they are concerned. How can anyone consciously live in this world and still find and maintain any sense of balance and peace? J.

Answer: Dear J.: My take it that no matter how many centuries we go back, there has been struggle, war, persecution…everything that goes with fear-based greed and the need for power. You have a choice regarding where you want to put your focus. And that will be reflected in your life. Peace lies within…it isn’t generated externally. Balance comes from being in the here and now, not the then and there…and living your life with grace.

When you thrash around in worry and fear about something that isn’t present in your daily life…you cannot at the same time make a difference in what actually IS present in your daily life or even BE present. It’s an escape, a useless and personally lethal attempt to not LIVE your life. Life is a gift, not something to be tossed aside while you pontificate about current events while making yourself elated and depressed. To what end? To look and sound concerned and informed? To whom? Why? What kind of change has any of it brought about to even one person…including you? It only defeats.

At any age there is the opportunity to serve others. A smile here, a kind word there, encouragement offered and understanding given. It’s not secondary, it’s all there is. The pre-requisite is to come from your heart not your mind…to listen to others and to know that they are a mirror image of you and in need of validation, as well. Love is the answer. Love that is radiated out into your immediate sphere of influence and then sent out into the world, silently, from there. Blessings, Luise

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About Luise Volta

Luise’s long life has brought her to being the great grandmother of four teenagers. Born in 1927, the miles in between her teens and theirs have been full of falling and getting up, learning and growing and then falling and getting up again. A normal, though not simple, process.
She has had diverse careers in nursing, teaching preschool, interior design, Real Estate sales, insurance adjusting and dairy herd testing. She’s lived in the Mid-west, South and West Coast. Luise is married to the love of her life, Val, born in 1911. Their little terrier, “Rosa,” makes most of the major decisions at their house, (or thinks she does).

3 Responses to Riding An Emotional Roller Coaster

You cannot change the world. But you can change your corner of the world. One act at a time. It took me a long time to realize this. And I was very unhappy with the world. But once I saw I can change MY little corner one day at a time. Smile to just one new person you meet each day. Find one place to volunteer for one hour a week, a month, whatever you can give. For me it was Meals on Wheels. I deliver meals two mornings a week. Sometimes I have to cancel but try to keep my two days a week. The people appreciate your smile and the meal. You may be the only person they see all day. Change the corner of your world and learn to love your life. D.

Luise’s advice to focus on our personal lives and do good within them is spot on. It’s one thing to be informed but it IS a useless distraction to become consumed by the horrors in world at large.

I was born wanting to save animals, and know all too well how it is to become paralyzed by all the suffering out there. But I rescue and volunteer on a local level, and allow myself to be cheered by the contributions I can make. I send letters and donations to the groups I respect that are working on more global themes. Thankfully with the Internet, doing such tasks is made much easier than in the days of needing actual typewriters, paper checks and stamps -!

I recommend to anyone who struggles with keeping her head up under the burden of knowing of massive suffering or injustice this easy and conversational book by Dennis Prager: Happiness is a Serious Problem. He argues quite convincingly that is is our moral duty to behave as if we are happy, and that behavior often leads to a lighter spirit. O.